Three Cases of Murder

Last updated

Three Cases of Murder
Three Cases of Murder poster.jpg
Theatrical poster
Directed by David Eady
George More O'Ferrall
Wendy Toye
Orson Welles (uncredited)
Written by Sidney Carroll
Ian Dalrymple
Donald B. Wilson
Produced by Ian Dalrymple
Alexander Paal
Starring Alan Badel
Orson Welles
John Gregson
André Morell
Cinematography Georges Périnal
Edited byGerald Turney-Smith
Music by Doreen Carwithen
Production
company
Wessex Film Productions
Distributed by London Films
Release dates
  • 15 March 1955 (1955-03-15)(US)
  • May 1955 (1955-05)(UK)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£250,000 [1]

Three Cases of Murder is a 1955 British horror omnibus film comprising three stories: "In The Picture," "You Killed Elizabeth," and "Lord Mountdrago." Eamonn Andrews introduces each. Alan Badel appears in all three. [2]

Contents

Cast

Main cast

Supporting cast

Uncredited/cameo cast

Production

The first and third stories deal with the supernatural. In the first, "In the Picture", a museum worker enters one of the pictures in a gallery, enticed by a mysterious man who turns out to be the picture's painter. In the second, "You Killed Elizabeth", a man falls in love with a woman, only to lose her to his friend; she dies, but which one killed her? In the third, "Lord Mountdrago", a dramatization of a short story by W. Somerset Maugham from his collection The Mixture as Before , a politician seeks revenge on the political opponent who humiliated him, by entering his dreams.

Wendy Toye directed "In the Picture"; David Eady, "You Killed Elizabeth"; and George More O'Ferrall, "Lord Mountdrago." [3]

Orson Welles received top billing, but he appears only in "Lord Mountdrago". According to Patrick Macnee, who had a supporting role, Welles began making suggestions to director George More O'Ferrall throughout the first day of filming, and by the third day he had taken over the direction of the entire segment. [4]

Reception

The presence of Orson Welles in the cast meant the film was released in the US before the UK. [2] The film was turned down for exhibition in the UK by both the Rank and Associated British chains. [1] They claimed that the film was mediocre and that Welles was not a big enough box office draw to compensate for this. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orson Welles</span> American filmmaker (1915–1985)

George Orson Welles was an American director, actor, writer, and producer who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Macnee</span> British-American actor (1922–2015)

Daniel Patrick Macnee was a British-American actor, best known for his breakthrough role as secret agent John Steed in the television series The Avengers (1961–1969). Starting out as the assistant to David Keel, he became the lead when Hendry left after the first series, and was subsequently partnered with a succession of female assistants. He later reprised the role in The New Avengers (1976–1977).

<i>The Third Man</i> 1949 film by Carol Reed

The Third Man is a 1949 British film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene, and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles and Trevor Howard. Set in post-World War II Allied-occupied Vienna, the film centres on American writer Holly Martins (Cotten), who arrives in the city to accept a job with his friend Harry Lime (Welles), only to learn that he has died. Martins stays in Vienna to investigate Lime's death, becoming infatuated with Lime's girlfriend Anna Schmidt (Valli).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick McGoohan</span> Irish American actor (1928–2009)

Patrick Joseph McGoohan was an Irish-American actor of film, television, and theatre. Born in New York City to Irish parents, he was raised in Ireland and England. He began his career in England during the 1950s and became well known for the titular role of secret agent John Drake in the ITC espionage programme Danger Man (1960–1968). He then created, produced, and starred as former British intelligence agent Number Six in the surrealistic ITV series The Prisoner (1967–1968).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maurice Kaufmann</span> English actor (1927–1997)

Maurice Harington Kaufmann was a British actor of stage, film and television, who specialised in whodunits and horror films, from 1954 to 1981, when he retired.

<i>The Black Museum</i> (radio series) Radio crime-drama program

The Black Museum is a radio crime-drama program produced by Harry Alan Towers, which was broadcast in the USA on the Mutual network in 1952. It was then broadcast in Europe in 1953 on Radio Luxembourg, a commercial radio station, and was not broadcast by the BBC until 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Gregson</span> English actor (1919–1975)

Harold Thomas Gregson, known professionally as John Gregson, was an English actor of stage, television and film, with 40 credited film roles. He was best known for his crime drama and comedy roles.

<i>Lord of Illusions</i> 1995 film by Clive Barker

Lord of Illusions is a 1995 American neo-noir supernatural horror film written and directed by Clive Barker, based on his own short story The Last Illusion published in 1985 in the anthology Books of Blood Volume 6. The same story introduced Barker's occult detective Harry D'Amour, who later appeared in several prose stories and comic books. Lord of Illusions is D'Amour's first onscreen appearance, with the character portrayed by actor Scott Bakula. Other actors appearing in the film include Kevin J. O'Connor, Famke Janssen and Daniel von Bargen. The story features D'Amour, who has had several experiences with the supernatural, embarking on an investigation involving a stage illusionist named Swann and a cult led by a sorcerer named Nix.

<i>The Lady from Shanghai</i> 1947 film by Orson Welles

The Lady from Shanghai is a 1947 American film noir produced and directed by Orson Welles and starring Rita Hayworth, Welles, Everett Sloane, and Glenn Anders. Welles's screenplay is based on the novel If I Die Before I Wake by Sherwood King.

<i>The Medusa Touch</i> (film) 1978 British film by Jack Gold

The Medusa Touch is a 1978 supernatural horror thriller film directed by Jack Gold. It stars Richard Burton, Lino Ventura, Lee Remick and Harry Andrews, and features Alan Badel, Derek Jacobi, Gordon Jackson, Jeremy Brett and Michael Hordern. The screenplay was by John Briley, based on the 1973 novel The Medusa Touch by Peter Van Greenaway. The film is a co-production between the United Kingdom and France.

<i>Night Train to Terror</i> 1985 American anthology horror film

Night Train to Terror is a 1985 American anthology horror film written by Philip Yordan and directed by Jay Schlossberg-Cohen, with segments directed by John Carr, Phillip Marshak, Tom McGowan, and Gregg C. Tallas. The film features three separate stories, presented through a frame narrative in which God and Satan view and debate the fates of the characters contained within them.

Trial film is a subgenre of the legal/courtroom drama that encompasses films that are centered on a civil or criminal trial, typically a trial by jury.

<i>New Orleans</i> (1947 film) 1947 musical drama film directed by Arthur Lubin

New Orleans is a 1947 American musical romance film starring Arturo de Córdova and Dorothy Patrick, and directed by Arthur Lubin. Though it features a rather conventional plot, the film is noteworthy both for casting jazz legends Billie Holiday as a singing maid romantically involved with bandleader Louis Armstrong, and extensive playing of New Orleans-style Dixieland jazz: over twenty songs are featured in whole or part.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Cherry</span> English actress (1915–2001)

Helen Mary Cherry was an English stage, film and television actress. She was born in Worsley, Lancashire, and brought up in Harrogate, West Riding of Yorkshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George More O'Ferrall</span> British film and television producer (1907–1982)

Edward George More O'Ferrall was a British film and television producer and director, and actor.

<i>Suspicion</i> (American TV series) 1957 American TV series or program

Suspicion is the title of an American television mystery drama series which aired on the NBC from 1957 through 1958. The executive producer of half of the filmed episodes (10) of Suspicion was film director Alfred Hitchcock.

<i>Trents Last Case</i> (1952 film) 1952 British film by Herbert Wilcox

Trent's Last Case is a 1952 British detective film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Michael Wilding, Margaret Lockwood, Orson Welles and John McCallum. It was produced by Wilcox as part of a distribution agreement with Republic Pictures. It was based on the 1913 novel Trent's Last Case by E. C. Bentley, and had been filmed previously in the UK with Clive Brook in 1920, and in a 1929 US version.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Miller (actor)</span> Czech actor (1899–1969)

Martin Miller, was a Czech-Austrian character actor. He played many small roles in British films and television series from the early 1940s until his death. He was best known for playing eccentric doctors, scientists and professors, although he played a wide range of small, obscure roles—including photographers, waiters, a pet store dealer, rabbis, a Dutch sailor and a Swiss tailor. On stage he was noted in particular for his parodies of Adolf Hitler and roles as Dr. Einstein in Arsenic and Old Lace and Mr. Paravicini in The Mousetrap.

"The Mauritius Penny" is the seventh episode of the second series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman. It was first broadcast by ABC on 10 November 1962. The episode was directed by Richmond Harding and written by Malcolm Hulke and Terrance Dicks.

References

  1. 1 2 "Orson Welles film rejected". The Sun . No. 13, 890. New South Wales, Australia. 19 August 1954. p. 55 (LATE FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved 1 October 2017 via National Library of Australia.
  2. 1 2 John Hamilton, The British Independent Horror Film 1951-70 Hemlock Books 2013 p 24-27
  3. The Times, "Three Cases Of Murder" Film Short Stories 16 May 1955
  4. Patrick Macnee, Blind in One Ear (London, 1988)
  5. ""Wonder Boy" Welles". The Newcastle Sun . No. 11, 277. New South Wales, Australia. 19 August 1954. p. 27. Retrieved 1 October 2017 via National Library of Australia.